UKGC announce bonus mixing ban and wager incentives caps

Gambling Commission

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) have announced that they will be applying new rules on gambling incentives and promotional wording, to ensure that UK licences apply safe and fair for consumers.

Gambling operators will now be banned from offering potentially harmful offers that would see consumers have to carry out two types of gambling, such as sports betting and slots.

To learn more about responsible gambling, visit our responsible gambling at casinos page which also offers resources and advice on where to seek help if needed. 

The measures will also see an improvement in the consumer knowledge of bonus offers and terms used, which the UKGC have previously highlighted as an issue.

These new terms came following a consultation, which also provided a new cap on bonus wagering requirements, and a revision in the wording in the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice to improve clarity.

This new legislation is set to come into action on 19 December, and it is a part of a broader regulatory change aligned with the 2023 White Paper ‘High stakes: Gambling reform for the digital age’.

The standout change is the prohibition of offering promotional rewards that combine wagering applications such as casino, betting, sports or lottery products.

A bonus that requires the consumer to place a sports bet and play a slot game to qualify is no longer permitted.

This has been confirmed in response to concerns that offering different types of gambling formats to earn bonuses may confuse consumers, and cause them to take risks, especially higher risk consumers.

Incentives will still be allowed to mix within the same category, for customers wagering on poker, casino and sports betting alone.

The consultation shows that 50% of respondents agree with the ban on bonus mixing, especially charities, academics and public health advocates.

These respondents welcomed the change, and argued that simplified offers were easier for the consumer to understand, and would reduce the chance of people betting more than they intended.

On the other hand, many gambling licencees and trade associations opposed the ban, pointing to the adequacy of evidence, and the free will of the consumer.

Some regulators pointed towards data that showed their customers enjoyed the mixed offers, and others argued that it would affect the flexibility of the business and the offers they could provide their consumers.

In response, the commission clarified that the ban only applies to incentives where the terms are linked across different products 

They also noted that this change is different to the recent changes that will require customers to consent to marketing by product and channel starting in May 2025.

A further change will see a cap on online bonus wagering that leads to a maximum of 10x the bonus amount.

The commission seeks to end misleading and excessive gambling promotions that could lead to a customer betting more than intended, viewing higher thresholds as a way to make it difficult for users to understand the conditions and risks.

In the consultation, there was once again a divide on the cap, with over half supporting a limit, while under half supported a complete ban.

Consumer advocates who supported a ban deemed even moderate requirements to be harmful, saying that customers may be tricked into playing longer than they had planned to.

Most licencees did not support a ban, as they often require some form of wagering limit to stop fraud and abuse, such as bot use or coordinated free offer exploitation.

The commission sees the 10x limit as a solution that allows consumer freedom while reducing potential harm.

To enhance these new measures, the commission will restructure the ‘Rewards and Bonus’ section of the LCCP to improve clarity of their expectations.

Tim Miller, executive director for research and policy at the Gambling Commission, said: “These changes will better protect consumers from gambling harm and give consumers much  better clarity on, and certainty of, offers before they decide to sign up.”